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North Korean attack

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Smoke engulfs Yeonpyeong island in South Korea near the border with North Korea on Nov. 23. North Korea attacked the South Korean island near their disputed western border on Nov. 23, setting buildings ablaze and killing two marines and two civilians. Yonhap/AP

In this image taken from TV footage, flames ignited just after artillery hit an area of South Korea's Yeonpyeong island near the border with North Korea on Nov. 23. KBS via APTN/AP

A firefighter puts out a fire on Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 24 after the island was hit by artillery shells fired by North Korea. Incheon Fire & Safety Management Department/Reuters

South Korean residents rest on Nov. 24 as they take shelter from North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong island. Yonhap/AP

A South Korean survivor of the North Korean attack on Nov. 23 is transported by a rescuer to an ambulance upon arriving at a port in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, on Nov. 24. Lee Jin-man/AP

South Korean survivors react upon arrival at a port in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, on Nov. 24. South Korea's troops were on high alert as their government exchanged threats with rival North Korea following a frightening military skirmish that ratcheted tensions on the peninsula to new extremes. Lee Jin-man/AP

On Nov. 24, a South Korean resident walks near houses destroyed by North Korea's shelling on Yeonpyeong island. Yonhap/AP

An aerial view shows destroyed houses on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, on Nov. 24, one day after North Korea's artillery attack on the island. Yonhap, Kim Hyun-tae/AP

A South Korean resident walks by destroyed houses on Yeonpyeong island, South Korea, on Nov. 24. South Korea found the burned bodies on Nov. 24 of two islanders killed in the North Korean artillery attack, marking the first civilian deaths in the incident and dramatically escalating the tensions in the region's latest crisis. Yonhap/AP

On Nov. 24, South Korean Democratic Party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu (r.) and party member Chung Dong-young inspect the wreckage of shells fired by North Korea on Yeonpyeong island. Yonhap/AP

People in Seoul, South Korea read an extra edition of a newpaper reporting that North Korea fired artillery onto Yeonpyeong island on Nov. 23. Ahn Young-joon/AP

South Korean marines salute their fellow soldiers killed in a North Korean bombardment during a memorial service at a military hospital in Seongnam, South Korea, on Nov. 24. Shin Young-gun,Yonhap/AP

An unidentified family member of Seo Jeong-woo, a South Korean Marine who was killed on Yeonpyeong Island by North Korea's artillery attack, weeps during a memorial service at a military hospital in Seongnam, South Korea, on Nov. 24. Yonhap, Shin Young-gun/AP

South Korean protesters with defaced portraits of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il and his son Kim Jong-un shout slogans in Seoul, South Korea, on Nov. 24, during a rally against North Korea's attack on Yeonpyeong island. The letters on a flag read 'Shatter.' Bang Sung-hae/AP

A military helicopter flies over Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 24 after the island was hit by artillery shells fired by North Korea. Yonhap/Reuters

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If the United States truly desires dialogue with North Korea, it would lift sanctions against it, according to North Korea's top military body in a statement released on Thursday. North Korea threatened 'the sledge-hammer blow of our army and the people' if its demands are not met.

North Korea demanded on Thursday the removal of U.N. sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile tests and a U.S. pledge not to engage in "nuclear war practice" with South Korea if Washington truly sought dialogue.